Sunday, May 20, 2012

What a Week! And Pregnancy word vomit :P

This week has been HUGE! Since Monday, I’ve visited a friend and her 2 week old baby, watched my Englishman become an Australian, spent a day in the vineyards with a bunch of wonderful friends and had lunch with my Mum’s entire family to celebrate Nan and Pop’s Birthdays! Add to that the drive to Newcastle and back, some minor housework and a big grocery shop, and I’m stuffed!

Highlights of this week include:

Finding out about a few more pregnancies – sorry everyone but my lips are (better) sealed this time!

Having a dance with my ‘Uni Girls’ at Lovedale – LOVE!


Seeing one friend’s teeny tiny baby and having a nurse of my cousin’s little one, Grace

Watching my lovely, handsome Englishman make a pledge to be Australian, get his certificate and sing (well, try to!) the National Anthem for his first time as an Aussie J



Seeing all of my Mum’s family come together to celebrate some special birthdays. Our Pop recently had to move into a nursing home, a choice no one wanted to make and one that Pop was (and is) very unhappy with. But I think he had a good day, he smiled and laughed, chatted to everyone, had a lovely sit in the sun and his eyes just lit up when I brought little Grace over to him. He also loved my cousin’s dog, Scruffy, who came along and provided some entertainment too!

Lastly – I booked into the hospital and met my midwife, Rose, this week. She was lovely and friendly and informative and smart and I felt really happy when I left the hospital. I’m feeling quite confident with my choice to go with the Midwife Program and hope that the experience is as good as I’ve heard.

On a side note – I’m finding out the further I get into this pregnancy (and I’m still only 14 weeks in people!!) that everyone who has ever had a baby has something to tell you about pregnancy . Sometimes it’s practical advice, sometimes it’s ‘things that worked for me’, sometimes it’s opinions on what you should or shouldn’t (will or won’t) ‘need’ for baby, and sometimes it’s about what it’ll be like once the baby arrives – how hard it’s going to be, or how hard it could be.

The only thing I’m finding really hard to take is the horror stories about ‘the first 6 months’. I KNOW it’s going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, I KNOW I’ll feel more tired than I ever thought possible, I KNOW that I might even feel like giving Baby back at some point! And I know that despite all my own thoughts and feelings and hopes, it may be made even harder by a dozen other possible factors like colic, reflux, post natal depression, problems with breastfeeding, mastitis, and other things that don’t even bear thinking about.

 BUT, I will NOT understand ANY of this properly UNTIL I DO IT MYSELF.

In the meantime, reality stories just freak me out. My emotional-pregnant brain cannot handle hearing negative ‘whatifs’ and really, there’s nothing I can do about any of that stuff right now except have supports around me ready and know what numbers to call.

I LOVE that everyone wants to help and give advice and ideas – I feel so supported and loved and cared for! But please, no more horror stories!

Phew. I feel better now.

ooh - and here's week 13's 'Bump' photo :-)



*Please note, this post is not aimed at anyone – it’s been building for a little while and I just really needed to vent! I feel very lucky to have some many lovely friends and family who want to help me and appreciate every bit of it. Every.Bit. xoxoxo

5 comments:

  1. I know what you mean. I was told a complete horror birth story when I was 14 weeks with my first, by someone I barely knew! You'll be fine.

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  2. Thanks Fran! I don't mind the birth stories if they're told with a bit of humour, and I don't even mind the reality stories if they have the same! If you don't laugh you'll cry, right? :)

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  3. As one of the "not-pregnants", you will be relieved to know that I have absolutely no advice to force on you at all. Huzzah!

    I'm still at the point where I feel like a complete fraud when I'm in conversation with someone who's pregnant or has kids! I'm all, "Oh, my friend/family member had this happen during their pregnancy/with their kids", while the person I'm talking to usually looks at me pityingly cos OBVIOUSLY I have no right to add to the conversation ;) Luckily I am also surrounded by a few angels who, despite my non-kid status, don't make me feel silly for joining in the baby-oriented chats. And with my mum being a midwife, I can also use her knowledge to tell lovely ladies like yourself not to worry about the chatter you'll be hearing on a daily basis. Everybody's got their own stories, their own experiences, but the magic thing about having kids is that you and the Englishman get to have your own experiences, and see first-hand what everyone else is talking about.

    On the plus side, I'm awesome at making baby gifts, so clearly I have some use ;)

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  4. Nothing Cutesy - I WAS you up til now! Full of stories of other people's pregnancies but none of my own. I think sometimes this is better as the stories aren't so personal so tend to be 'censored' if that makes sense ;-) It's hard when everyone around you is involved in something but you aren't (yet).

    Thanks lovely! Hope you're having a wonderful holiday btw :-) xxx

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  5. Well im not pregnant, and dont have any children YET, but i have a few friends that have had two kids already and i think im told too much. From their stories i am put off children and afraid of the dramatic and horrible life change.... I dont want to feel like this!? Are the stories going to come in hard and fast once i do fall pregnant!? One friend actually sent me a pic of her sons nappy to 'prepare' me... She thought it was funny, i thought it was unecessary. Anyway im about to have brunch with a young mum of two, who i love dearly, but persists on telling me every waking minute of her childrens day/night, swimming lessons, toilet habits, sicknesses and diet (omg dont get me started).
    How do i handle this? Miss Holly how do you handle it!? Im scared im going to snap! My friend and i had so much in common... And now?

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